monthly loan payment calculator

This Loan Payment Calculator computes an estimate of the size of your monthly loan payments and the annual salary required to manage them without too much financial difficulty. This loan calculator can be used with Federal education loans (Stafford, Perkins and PLUS) and most private student loans. (This student loan calculator can also be used as an auto loan calculator or to calculate your mortgage payments.)

This loan calculator assumes that the interest rate remains constant throughout the life of the loan. The Federal Stafford Loan has a fixed interest rate of 6.8% and the Federal PLUS loan has a fixed rate of 7.9%. (Perkins loans have a fixed interest rate of 5%.)

This loan calculator also assumes that the loan will be repaid in equal monthly installments through standard loan amortization (i.e., standard or extended loan repayment). The results will not be accurate for some of the alternate repayment plans, such as graduated repayment and income contingent repayment.

Loan fees are used to adjust the initial loan balance so that the borrower nets the same amount after the fees are deducted.

Some educational loans have a minimum monthly payment. Please enter the appropriate figure ($50 for Stafford Loans, $40 for Perkins Loans and $50 for PLUS Loans) in the minimum payment field. Enter a higher figure to see how much money you can save by paying off your debt faster. It will also show you how long it will take to pay off the loan at the higher monthly payment. You can also calculate private student loan eligibility on comparison sites like Credible.

The questions concerning enrollment status, degree program and total years in college are optional and are designed to evaluate whether the total debt is excessive. The total years in college should include the total number of years in college so far (or projected) corresponding to the loan balance, including previous degrees received.